If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Thanks Norcal - one step at a time. Let's see if somebody wants our "Alexander Z8".
After finding some pieces of dirt in front of the radiator three years ago, I installed the marine grade stainless steel wire mesh at all three openings to keep future leafs and other debris out. Beside the practical effect of keeping the engine cool, it looks great - a little like the high power versions of Bentley and Jaguar.

One more information:
I forgot to mention that I worked in 2009 for three months on the car to bring it back to its original beauty (looks like new), entered it in the Concours at the BMW CCA National Convention and won a prize. If you have ever seen the judges at that event inspecting a car, you know that my car is in super clean condition. Since then I kept it on that level.

looking to get into a z8, it seems like everyone wants low mileage cars ie under 10k miles, or under 20k miles. Just wondering if it is worth the price difference as this 39k mile z8 looks to be enthusiast owned and driven for $15k-$25k less than a lower mileage z8

I'm a driver, so even though I bought mine new with the intention of keeping it pristine, it now has 20,000 joyous, magical miles on it which also count as some of the sweetest life experiences of the last decade.

So if you love to drive then milage really isn't too much of an issue, because it'll add up anyway. We've seen a lot of these cars in Europe brake the 100k mark and several the 200k mark, and none have any milage related issues. If you ask me this is a great car at an awesome price, buy, drive and enjoy!

Andrew Macpherson

Expert Z8 Inspections, with full support for both Z8 sale and purchases.

IMHO when you're dealing with collectible cars, you have the drivers and the garage queens. Sadly the drivers that are well taken care of, but also driven, get hammered because there will be a few drivers that are abused (rather than used). The garage queens become the blue chip investments. Thats how it is. I don't know the car here but it seems like a nice car. If it checks out then Id say this is a pretty good deal. As there are less and less of these cars around because they end up in collections, and a few go out of the pool due to accidents, all the cars will appreciate a little more. Ultimately there are too many Z8s for them to have a situation you have with a car like a Ferrari 250 GTO where there are only so many, all have been thrashed and probably repainted and some even crashed and yet they can fetch $30m. Thats because there are only 34-39 of them (depending on whom you ask).

jvmax - I am not the track kind of guy. I see the Z8 as the modern Grand Tourismo, which has planty of power from modest rpm. When I asked my old friend, Armin Gollob (head of the Z8 production at BMW) about the car, he mentioned that this car/engine combination is good for 150k+, which makes it still good for many more miles. The similar equipped M5 have proven to be good for many miles. I follwed all the recommendations from Armin regarding service and oil and believe that our car will be just fine for many years to come. If you have questions, please send me a note.

thanks for the quick replies, i'm a driver myself and miles dont scare me, just looking at the big picture and see how much the low mile z8 examples have moved in the past year. just wondering if it is worth spending a little more and getting a 10-20k mile example.

It's worth it if you aren't going to put too many miles on it, but if you want to drive it then I'd say it much less so. If you double this ones milage I 'd suggest it'll take a smaller hit than doubling the miles on a 15k car.

Andrew Macpherson

Expert Z8 Inspections, with full support for both Z8 sale and purchases.

It's worth it if you aren't going to put too many miles on it, but if you want to drive it then I'd say it much less so. If you double this ones milage I 'd suggest it'll take a smaller hit than doubling the miles on a 15k car.

i'd drive about 1k miles a year, i'm just trying to stay under the $100k mark. Now with more the 30k miles, i'd like to stay somewhere in the $80's as I believe this is the bottom of the market and if for some reason i need to sell, it shouldnt be too hard--that's why i am wondering why this car hasnt sold yet? early 2000 model not desirable? dealers buying up all the low mileage z8's?

I offered the car for sale only on this forum. This may be the reason why I haven'y sold it yet.
I try to stay clear of the dealers, who don't know much about the car and can't recognize a good one, but try to buy extreme low and sell for $30k to $50k more.
Off course this forum is mostly people, who have a Z8. I believe that only very few people on the search for a Z8 find their way to this website.
I have somebody interested in my car. He test drove it and liked it very much, but he wants to trade in another car and give me the cash difference. The other car is okay, but not my fist choice. Therefore I haven't agreed to the deal, yet.

i'd drive about 1k miles a year, i'm just trying to stay under the $100k mark. Now with more the 30k miles, i'd like to stay somewhere in the $80's as I believe this is the bottom of the market and if for some reason i need to sell, it shouldnt be too hard--that's why i am wondering why this car hasnt sold yet? early 2000 model not desirable? dealers buying up all the low mileage z8's?

If you read various threads you will find a few who think the early 2000's are more collectible, and others than believe the 2002's and later had enough upgrades to merit concentrating on them. The primary one is the Vanos fix, which can be repaired, but it is good to check to see if it is the simple fix or the one that requires opening up the engine a bit. Some 2000 owners have never had it fixed and had no problems. The vanos issue was not an issue in the cars manufactured after 12/00, I believe, but check the bullitens available elsewhere on this site.

Condition, whatever the year is HUGE, as things like tailights can be expensive to fix. I had a personal problem with sun damaged cars and made sure that the one I bought did not have it. Installation of the Performance Package is a plus too. Not that much money, but you have more peace of mind about no shock tower damage. I saw a lot of cars where the hood seams got awfully narrow at the front, indicating tower damage.

I looked at one 25k mile car and added up about $15K worth of repairs to get it to an acceptable standard. Depending on your price tolerance, a 39K mile car without all those repairs is a better deal. Plus at 39k miles you are well past the point of trying to preserve the stratopheric value that a low mileage car might have. Drive and enjoy. Repeat.

Dear Andrew,
Thanks for all your advise and help.
Your website is the best support for the somewhat rare Z8.
But never say never.
If another Z8 comes my way, I may just get back into it.
I couldn't let the opportunity go by to make a significant win with my cat after having fun for more than 3 years.
I will look into your website from time to time, to see how the market develops.